NFL Logo

The shield shape has been the core visual element of the NFL logo ever since the League was established in 1920. Together with the letters “NFL”, as well as stars and stripes from the US flag, it has been what made the logo recognizable. However, the emblem has not stayed the same over the years; it has undergone quite a few changes.

NFL Logo Meaning and history

To begin with, we should mention the 1921 logo. The emblem of the main football league in the US was built around the colors of the country’s flag (or at least resembling the country’s flag). Inside the shield shape, we can see two fields. The upper field is blue, with yellow letters “NFL”, while below it there are red vertical stripes on the white background.

By 1940, the National Football League logo was updated. Stars appeared in the upper part of the emblem, while the wordmark moved down. The stripes were pink with a thin red border, while the letters were red and more intricate in design than in the previous version. The colors grew darker, more refined. Also, there was an angled oval shape (representing a football) inside the blue field. It contained seven short vertical lines and two longer horizontal ones.

Less than a year later, the emblem was redesigned. The pink color was replaced by white, while the borders between the stripes became blue. Due to these innovations, the wordmark grew more visible.

There were a couple changes introduced within the period between 1961 and 1982. There was some playing around with the shades of the colors as well as the shape of the letters. However, the overall looks remained the same.

1983–2007 National Football League symbol

At first glance, the 1983 NFL logo appears very similar to the previous one. And yet, if you take a closer look, you will definitely notice the difference in the width of the emblem’s border: it became wider. Also, designers tweaked the position of the oval shape in the upper field.

2008 emblem NFL redesign

In the 2008 season a redesigned emblem was unveiled. The number of stars grew smaller: there were now 8 of them, one for each of the NFL’s divisions. The oval shape was turned a bit upward and to the side. Also, the intricate typeface was replaced by a straight, serif one.

Font of the NFL Logo

The current version of the NFL logo features a clear custom serif type. All the letters are capitals and have different height, “F” being the highest.

Color of the NFL Logo

The colors of the US flag – red, white, and blue – have been the standard colors of the NFL emblem ever since its inception. There were some playing around with the shades, and for a short period pink was also present in the logotype.